Actor Charlie Hunnam at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah in January 2011.
Reuters

Before there was Jamie Dornan, “Fifty Shades of Grey” almost had a very different leading man: Charlie Hunnam. It’s long been rumored why the “Sons of Anarchy” star walked away from the film adaptation of E.L. James’ erotic novel, but he said it had nothing to do with the raunchy sex scenes.

"I don’t think people have had unchaperoned access to me since all of this went on,” Hunnam said at the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills, according to the Miami Herald. “The CliffsNotes were exactly what we said. I couldn’t do it because of [the] schedule. It was as simple as that. I would’ve brought a certain rugged charm to it, but believe me, he’s going to do just fine."

Rugged charm, eh? It seems “Fifty Shades” fans will never know what that will be like. But it turns out that the actor is just as excited to see the film as most Christian Grey devotees are.

"I’m just really excited to see it. I was just really, really invested and wanted to work with Sam [Taylor-Johnson] and play that character. I’m really, really curious."

So, Hunnam definitely won’t be in the film but maybe there is a chance someone will be able to sit next to him in the movie theater?

He even defended the trilogy, which many have deemed “mommy porn.”

“I think people really do that book a disservice when they reduce it to that type of talk,” Hunnam said. “What [James] actually created is a really sophisticated dynamic and presented it in a package which was accessible to people who normally would be terrified of that subject.”

Another celebrity who is plugging the movie is none other than R&B diva Beyoncé. The “Drunk in Love” singer posted teaser trailer with a breathy, sexy version of her 2004 hit “Crazy in Love” on Instagram that sent fans wild. The post has garnered more than 400,000 likes since it was posted to the social media site Saturday night.

The official trailer for “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which people internationally have been eagerly waiting for, is set to be released on Thursday. The movie is slated to hit theaters on Valentine’s Day 2015.